Croatia
Indonesia
Nigeria
South Africa

K-League XIvs.SpursTottenham Hotspur

sportsmole.co.uk, 29 July 2024, 18:45
Continuing their pre-season preparations in Asia, Tottenham Hotspur will pit their wits against a K-League XI on Wednesday night in Seoul.

The hosts have an array of the top players from throughout the K-League, whilst the Lilywhites are likely to name a strong XI against their Asian opponents.

Match preview

Following a promising first season in charge at the North London club, Ange Postecoglou is aiming to compete for major honours as Tottenham head coach during the 2024-25 campaign, with the Lilywhites only managing a fifth-placed finish in the Premier League last term.

Spurs have commenced their pre-season schedule in empathic fashion, recording four straight wins over Cambridge United, Hearts, Queens Park Rangers and Vissel Kobe on Saturday night, when Pedro Porro, Son Heung-min and Mikey Moore all got onto the scoresheet for the visitors.

Plotting to break into Postecoglou's first-team thinking this season, 16-year-old Moore has impressed massively so far over the summer, also finding the net against Scottish Premiership side Hearts at Tynecastle.

The Lilywhites will be aiming to record their second win over a K-League XI after their trip to South Korea in July 2022, when the Premier League side smashed their hosts 6-3.

Following Wednesday's clash, Spurs will face German giants Bayern Munich twice over the space of eight days before a top-flight opener at the King Power Stadium against newly-promoted Leicester City on August 17.

After failing to beat either Barcelona, Juventus or Spurs in previous forms, the K-League XI produced a remarkable win over La Liga side Atletico Madrid this time last year, condemning Diego Simeone's troops to a 3-2 defeat.

All of the hosts' strikes arrived during the course of a pulsating second half, meaning that goals from Thomas Lemar and Carlos Martin were not enough to claim any bragging rights for the Spaniards.

During their most recent loss, the K-League XI were battered 6-3 by Spurs two years ago, when Son, Harry Kane and Eric Dier were all on the scoresheet, with the former the only remaining member of that trio in North London.

Tottenham Hotspur friendly form:

Team News

Scoring a hat-trick in the 7-2 smashing of Cambridge at the start of pre-season, Brennan Johnson appears to be in good form this summer and could start on Wednesday.

Summer arrival Archie Gray has been earning rave reviews for his performance so far for the Lilywhites, with the former Leeds United man set to feature once again here.

Lucas Bergvall is another young talent who will be hoping to make major waves in the first team this season, and the Swede is set to provide the creative spark against the K-League XI.

Jesse Lingard was named in the initial K-League XI squad but has been forced to pull out of contention for the Spurs clash due to injury.

At just 17 years of age, attacker Yoon Do-young is being described as a prodigy by some South Korean outlets and could play a major part against the Premier League visitors.

K-League XI possible starting lineup:

In-jae Hwang; Mun-ki Hwang, Park, Italo, Jeong; Yoon, Oberdan, Cesinha, Anderson; Iljutcenko, Tuci

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Royal, Gray, Davies; Sarr, Bissouma, Johnson, Maddison, Son; Kulusevski

We say: K-League XI 1-4 Tottenham Hotspur

With a number of top players pulling out of the squad, the K-League XI are set to struggle against top-class Premier League opposition on Wednesday night.

Tottenham have been firing in the goals so far this pre-season, and we see no reason why that trend cannot continue in Seoul against the K League's best.

Previews by email

Top News

22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Dundee Utd vs. Celtic (Sunday, 12.00pm) Celtic, looking to maintain their unbeaten run in the Scottish Premiership, will travel to Tannadice Park on Sunday afternoon to face Dundee United. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Everton vs. Chelsea (Sunday, 2.00pm) Chelsea have the chance to go top of the Premier League for a brief time at least when they travel to Goodison Park to face Everton on Sunday. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk South American giants Palmeiras have reportedly sent an 'initial proposal' to Fulham for midfielder Andreas Pereira. 22 December 2024 talksport.com Nuno Espirito Santo will rival Arne Slot to win the Premier League's Manager of the Year award. 22 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona want to sever ties with attacker Ansu Fati at the earliest opportunity in the January transfer window but the player is rebelling against a move, according to a report. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich winger Leroy Sane has confirmed that he wants to remain at the Allianz Arena despite links with a return to the Premier League next year. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Serie A powerhouses Napoli have supposedly expressed an interest in signing Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on a free transfer next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Alexander Sorloth scored a last-gasp winner as Atletico Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to go top of the La Liga table. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal attacker Bukayo Saka has been seen leaving Selhurst Park on crutches after sustaining a suspected hamstring problem in Saturday's 5-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have written a new page of English football history thanks to their 5-1 destruction of London rivals Crystal Palace in Saturday's Premier League derby. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Round 17 of the 2024-25 Turkish Super Lig will be wrapped up with a clash between two sides from the Marmara region, as Istanbul Basaksehir welcome Kasimpasa to the Basaksehir Fatih Terim Stadyumu on Monday evening. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Leicester loan star Facundo Buonanotte wants to see a Tottenham forward join him so they can rekindle their partnership. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal's rivals will hate it but they can definitely claim London is red after their 5-1 win over Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal striker Gabriel Jesus continued his resurgence with two goals as the Gunners demolished Crystal Palace 5-1 in the Premier League at Selhurst Park. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Arsenal fans' worst fears have been realised with Bukayo Saka substituted early with a suspected hamstring injury. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have suffered a worrying injury blow over Bukayo Saka, who appeared to pick up a hamstring problem in Saturday's Premier League clash with Crystal Palace. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Barcelona and Arsenal are reportedly both interested in signing Sevilla midfielder Lucien Agoume, with the France Under-21s international potentially leaving Estadio Ramon next summer. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have welcomed Ferland Mendy back into their squad for Sunday's La Liga clash with Sevilla. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Mykhailo Mudryk will be sat ringside at Oleksandr Usyk's rematch with Tyson Fury days after being suspended from football. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Southampton have confirmed the appointment of former Roma head coach Ivan Juric as their new manager following the departure of Russell Martin. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United's 4-0 victory against Ipswich Town on Saturday afternoon at Portman Road ensured that they followed up their qualification for the EFL Cup semi-final with an important three points in the Premier League. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Southampton have confirmed ex-Roma boss Ivan Juric as their new manager to replace Russell Martin. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Nottingham Forest enhanced their Champions League credentials and condemned Brentford to their first home loss of the Premier League season with a 2-0 victory at the Gtech Community Stadium. 21 December 2024 talksport.com Jack Grealish burned some bridges with Aston Villa after taunting the club's fans following their victory over Manchester City. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk A fitting final Premier League match before Christmas Day, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool engage in a battle of the behemoths in North London on Sunday afternoon. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa handed Manchester City a 2-1 defeat on Saturday, adding to the woes of Pep Guardiola's side, who have now endured nine losses in their last 12 matches. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery has claimed that his side decided to defeat Manchester City "through domination" on Saturday afternoon. 21 December 2024 talksport.com "This is a crisis." 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid will be bidding to return to winning ways in La Liga when they welcome Sevilla to Bernabeu on Sunday. 21 December 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Real Madrid have added Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk to their wishlist for the summer transfer window, according to a report.